Bucket of Coins

Every once in a while you will have a coin in your coin collection that really doesn’t “click” or has something distracting to it. I had one such coin that I had in my collection that was a little distracting to me.  It was my 1837 Reeded Edge 50 Cent piece.

My original one was persevered in an ANACS holder and was graded as AU58. I purchased this coin for $400 at a local coin show. It still had mint luster on the obverse with nice details that cartwheeled when you moved your hand like a nice Morgan does. It was a very nice piece with some really interesting die cracks. One on the reverse ran from the “A” in STATES through the beak of the eagle making a U shape over to the “E” in AMERICA. It almost appeared to be a cracked planchet, but it was definitely a die crack. On the Obverse, a 1/4 moon die crack ran from the Bust up through the cheek right in front of the first left sideburn curl then continued through the “R” and “T” in LIBERTY over to Star # 8. The 7 in 1837 looked repunched to me. The coin had a lot of character and was very appealing with nice details over all. My biggest issue with it was the reverse has dark gunk around some of the devices like the “E” in America, in the horizontal lines of the shield and around the beak. See below.

I ended up trading this coin off to friend of mine at a local coin club in which I am a member, for  a few other coins I’d rather have. Thus beginning my search for a nice example of a 1937 Reeded Edge 50 Cent piece to fill my newly acquired “hole” in my Dansco 7070. After several months patiently waiting, I found a replacement!  I really liked the sharpness of the details of the hair and of the clasp. I found the toning very appealing. I feel the coin is a much cleaner and better struck example of an AU58 coin, when comparing it to my original one.  Granted it cost about $100 more than my original but I think it is definitely better quality and would make the grade with NGC or PCGS, where as the first coin would not. Here is the new coin:

After nearly 40 years of dealing in and collecting coins, I have finally decided to put my thoughts/experiences/insight/expertise down for others to read/enjoy/learn from.

Funny as I sit here at my desk looking at a 1909 VDB Lincoln cent, I used to think I was a coin collector. But as I have “grown-up” in “the hobby of kings”, I have come to realize none of us are collectors. Why you say? It’s simple if you think about it, using this 100 years old coin lying on my desk as a perfect example, how come it is still in mint state condition and fiery red after all this time? You have to think that shortly after it was minted someone thought well enough about this first year Lincoln cent to put it somewhere safe and secure. So during the time since a coin was minted, the cent has had how many owners during its existence? It sure would be interesting to know wouldn’t it?

I have often pondered the thought of writing my own pedigree for the coins in my possession and if I did decide to pass it along to another person either directly or indirectly, the history would accompany it. I know I am not a “Jack Lee” but I have had some nice coins over the years and potentially someone would like to know something about the coin they have gotten from me! I think it’d be nice too if the new owner did the same when they were ready for the coin to change possession. I envision and encourage this practice as it would answer the age old question of “who carried/owned this coin”. Think about how many times a coin may travel from state to state or across the country or to another country for that matter. Kind of reminds me of the time I went back to my Elementary School when I was in High School and went to the library to find my favorite book. Once I found it I looked at the back of the checkout card and there was my signature from 10 years earlier…kind of took me back.

I still say that there are not “coin collectors” out there, but there are “Coin Custodians”. We are just like the people before us, we simply maintain, protect, and preserve coins so others in the future can enjoy them. Like they say, you can take them with you. I am a believer in protecting and remembering a person’s heritage and honoring their country…what better way than keeping a little history alive than sharing “coin custodianship” aka coin collecting with others…especially our children, family, and friends.